BACKGROUND: Beginning in 2014-2015, schools nationwide have had the option of offering free meals to all students in qualifying schools through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The CEP has been linked to greater likelihood of eating school meals, but little is known about its impact on broader outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to estimate the association between the CEP and school attendance among elementary school students (grades 1 to 5). DESIGN: This was a quasi-experimental study in which students' attendance records were observed over 1 baseline and 2 follow-up years in a sample of CEP and eligible non-CEP schools. PARTICIPANTS/ SETTING: The participants were elementary school students in Wisconsin during three consecutive school years beginning 2013-2014. The main sample included 92,126 observation-years for students in 37 CEP and 108 eligible non-CEP elementary schools. INTERVENTION: CEP-participating schools offered breakfast and lunch free to all students through the School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program beginning in 2014-2015. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome measures were the attendance rate (defined as the percentage of school days attended) and low attendance (defined as attending fewer than 95% of available days) during the first and second implementation years. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Difference-in-difference regression models with student fixed effects were estimated, with separate impacts for the first and second CEP years. Models adjusted for time-varying school and student characteristics. RESULTS: Implementing the CEP had no association with attendance in the initial year. The second year of CEP was associated with a 3.5 percentage point reduction in the percentage of students with low attendance (P=0.045). An association between CEP and attendance was only found for economically disadvantaged students. CONCLUSIONS: Offering meals free to all students through the CEP may modestly reduce the risk of low attendance among economically disadvantaged students in participating schools.
BACKGROUND: Beginning in 2014-2015, schools nationwide have had the option of offering free meals to all students in qualifying schools through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The CEP has been linked to greater likelihood of eating school meals, but little is known about its impact on broader outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to estimate the association between the CEP and school attendance among elementary school students (grades 1 to 5). DESIGN: This was a quasi-experimental study in which students' attendance records were observed over 1 baseline and 2 follow-up years in a sample of CEP and eligible non-CEP schools. PARTICIPANTS/ SETTING: The participants were elementary school students in Wisconsin during three consecutive school years beginning 2013-2014. The main sample included 92,126 observation-years for students in 37 CEP and 108 eligible non-CEP elementary schools. INTERVENTION: CEP-participating schools offered breakfast and lunch free to all students through the School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program beginning in 2014-2015. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome measures were the attendance rate (defined as the percentage of school days attended) and low attendance (defined as attending fewer than 95% of available days) during the first and second implementation years. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Difference-in-difference regression models with student fixed effects were estimated, with separate impacts for the first and second CEP years. Models adjusted for time-varying school and student characteristics. RESULTS: Implementing the CEP had no association with attendance in the initial year. The second year of CEP was associated with a 3.5 percentage point reduction in the percentage of students with low attendance (P=0.045). An association between CEP and attendance was only found for economically disadvantaged students. CONCLUSIONS: Offering meals free to all students through the CEP may modestly reduce the risk of low attendance among economically disadvantaged students in participating schools.
Authors: Juliana F W Cohen; Amelie A Hecht; Gabriella M McLoughlin; Lindsey Turner; Marlene B Schwartz Journal: Nutrients Date: 2021-03-11 Impact factor: 5.717
Authors: Sally Lawrence Bullock; Spring Dawson-McClure; Kimberly Parker Truesdale; Dianne Stanton Ward; Allison E Aiello; Alice S Ammerman Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-03-22 Impact factor: 3.390